My top 5 rom-coms

I love a good rom-com, we all love a good rom-com.

For those who are feeling a little bit lost right now, rom-com stands for a Romantic Comedy. It's the perfect genre to watch a Friday night when you want to watch a film that'll make you go ''aww'' and laugh in a few occasions - don't expect mind blowing plot twists. The rom-com has always been present at my house, my parents are big fans of Woody Allen's style of rom-coms (like myself), they also really enjoy the french ones, so I'd say my taste is somewhere in the middle.

So, what makes a rom-com good?
1. Let's be real, it's going to be a little cheesy, I mean IT'S A ROM-COM. But only the good ones can balance it and make it not that cheesy. The ones that can't do it really make me cringe.
2. Great personalities on the characters. I really enjoy when the characters not only the main ones, are different than what we are used to and think in a special way.
3. When they are not as predictable. It's a comedy so it can't finish badly, but I really enjoy when the film it's not only: Boy meets girl, they fall in love, they have problems but manage to end up together.
4. Good all-in-all plot. It has to make sense, feel relatable but fresh at the same time, there are a lot of these kinds of films that are practically the same.
5. The most important thing is that it needs to make you laugh, at least giggle.

My list (the ones which are in the same category is because I love them equally)
1. Annie Hall
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen and Diane Keaton
Plot summary: The romantic adventures of a neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer and his girlfriend Annie Hall. The film traces the course of their relationship from their first meeting, as he tries to figure out what caused them to part ways.

1.1. Manhattan
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Meryl Streep and Mariel Hemingway.
Plot summary: In Manhattan, Isac Davis is a divorced writer of TV shows who is unhappy with his job. His ex-wife left him for another woman and she's writing a book about their relationship. 

2. Lost in Translation
Director: Sofia Coppola
Starring: Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson
Plot summary: Bob Harris is an American film actor, who visits Tokyo to appear in commercials, and he meets Charlotte, a just graduated Yale student and the young wife of a visiting photographer. Charlotte is looking for "her place in life," and Bob is going through a midlife crisis. 

3. When Harry met Sally
Director: Rob Reiner
Starring: Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal
Plot summary: Harry and Sally meet when she gives him a ride to New York after they both graduate from the University of Chicago. The film jumps through their lives while they are both searching for love but fail, bumping into each other time and time again. Finally they become really good friends but, "Can a man and a woman be friends, without sex getting in the way?"

4. Love actually
Director: Richard Kurtis
Starring: Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson and Bill Nighy.
Plot summary: This film follows the lives of eight very different couples idealing with their love lives in various interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London.

5. Before Sunrise
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke
Plot summary: Before Sunrise is a romance between a young American (Jesse) and a French student (Celine). They meet in a train and Jesse suggests that Celine postpones her return to France and embarks instead on a spontaneous expedition to Vienna.

5.1. Before Sunset
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke
Plot summary: Nine years after Jesse and Celine first met, they encounter each other again during Jesse's book tour in France.

5.2. Before Midnight
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke
Plot summary: Nine years later, Jesse and Celine, the French-American couple who once met on a train in Vienna, now live in Paris with twin daughters, but have spent a summer in Greece on the invitation of an author colleague of Jesse's. 

What is your favourite rom-com? I would love to know.

Top 5 Autumn/Winter Beauty Products

Hello lovely people!
Today I'm going to talk about the beauty products I love using during the Autumn and Winter months. Obviously during these months the weather gets colder so our skin gets drier and specially our lips crack very easily, so we need products which gives us that extra boost or that extra hydration; the following products are the ones which help me achieve that.
Don't forget to tell me your favorite products in the comment section!

1. ''Eight Hour Cream'' by Elizabeth Arden
Price: 34€

In the Elizabeth Arden webpage they describe this product as ''a legendary, award-winning skin protectant that does more than soothe sun-burned skin, rehydrate chapped lips, and heal rough elbows and calluses [...] keeping legs, lips and eyelids shiny; eyebrows in place; and cuticles perfectly manicured''.
This product is simply amazing, it has a balmy texture and I mainly use it on my lips when they are quite dry because in matter of seconds it moisturizes and gives a beautiful shine to them, I also use it on my elbows as I get very dry elbows easily.

2. ''Creme de Corps'' by Kiehl's
Price: 33€

This is hands down the best body moisturizer I've ever tried. It smells lovely and has a very buttery texture but it's not sticky or oily at all, it gets rid of any dry patches on your skin and just leaves your skin looking gorgeous and hydrated. What I specially love about this cream is it's quick absorption and the fact that it doesn't contain parabens, glycols or silicones (this is always a plus).

3. ''Ultra Facial Oil-Free Lotion'' by Kiehl's
Price: 24€

A few years ago when my mum got into the Kiehl's addiction one of the first products I tried from the brand was this lotion, I loved it so much but when it finished I don't really remember why I didn't repurchase it. A few weeks ago I bought it again and now I remember why I used to love it so much, it's the perfect facial moisturizer for an oily skin: it's not oily or drying, it just leaves your skin looking balanced and glowing (NOT oily).

4. ''Rosehip Oil''
Price: From 5-20€ (Depends on the brand)

Rosehip Oil is an amazing natural oil which my dermatologist recommended me a few years ago that doesn't only help you with dry patches and dry skin, it also helps you with scars from acne or any other kind of scar. I use one from my local pharmacy so it's not from a well known brand, but I've been told that this one from Trilogy is great and it's more accessible to buy.

5. ''Thermale Spring Water'' by Avène
Price: 12€

This product is great for sensitive skin, it's a thermal water which does a similar function of a toner but I wouldn't define it as a toner. This product helps to calm, sooth and balance your skin, I use it before my moisturizer, I spray it in a cross shape, I let it sink into my skin and then I remove the excess with a tissue with a tapping motion.

My 5 favourite Zara things of this week

As you know, Zara is my favorite store, and every week they have new things, so I decided to make a selection of my 5 favorite Zara things of this week. Next week on Thursday and Friday is a holiday so I'm going with my family to Barcelona two days and I'll do some winter shopping that I will show you. Good night to everyone, hope you have a good start of the week!

Como ya sabréis, Zara es mi tienda favorita y todas las semanas tienen cosas nuevas, por eso he decidido hacer una selección de mis 5 cosas favoritas de Zara de esta semana. La semana que viene el jueves y el viernes es fiesta por eso voy con mi familia a Barcelona dos días y aprovecharé para hacer algunas compras de invierno que ya os enseñaré. Buenas noches a todos, espero que tengáis un buen comienzo de semana!

Love,

Julia Coldwell

The style of: Alexa Chung

The first post I made of this section was of Olivia Palermo, my favorite it-girl, and now the second post in this section is of Alexa Chung, my second favorite it-girl. Before I start I will say (and you probably already know) that I love her style (and this is the reason I dedicated a post to her), her style is a mix of styles: chic, casual, trendy and she always tries to put to her looks a masculine touch, a touch of Chung.

She was of the first it-girls to wear the famous slippers (which I did a post too) that now have become a must for all women. She also wears a lot of oxford shoes, well, to review, the shoes of ''masculine'' style and better if they are black. Also I don't if you knew it but she is the image of Superga that she also uses them a lot.

El primer post de esta sección la hice de Olivia Palermo, mi it-girl preferida, y ahora el segundo post de esta sección tratará de Alexa Chung, mi segunda it-girl preferida. Por empezar os diré (y que seguro que ya sabéis) que me encanta su estilo (por algo será que el dedico un post), su estilo es un mix de estilos: chic, casual, trendy y siempre intenta ponerles a sus looks un toque masculino, un toque de Chung.

Fue de las primeras en llevar los famosos slippers (a los que dediqué un post también) que ahora ya se han convertido en un must para todas las mujeres. También lleva mucho los zapatos oxford, en fin los zapatos de estilo ''masculino'' y de preferencia de color negro. También no se si habéis visto que es la imagen de Superga y también es un zapato que utiliza mucho.

Con slippers / With slippers: 

Con zapatos oxford y Superga / With oxford shoes and Superga:

Her other fetiche accessories are hats, she wears them in many situations but we see her with one more when she is wearing a casual look.

Su otra prenda fetiche son los sombreros, los lleva en muchas ocasiones pero la vemos más con uno cuando va de estilo casual.

Con sombrero / With hat:

As I said before, our Alexa likes to put a masculine touch to her looks and we can see it in the following looks:

Como he dicho antes a nuestra Alexa le gusta poner un toque masculino a sus looks y lo podemos ver en los siguientes looks:

Top 5 favourite looks:

I don't own any of these photos / Ninguna de estas fotos son de mi propiedad.

Lots of love,

Julia C.